Closet Commitments

It’s likely the newly announced 10-episode series of Sex And The City, which will begin filming in late spring, will be an entirely different proposition from the original HBO TV show, which first aired more than 20 years ago. A new name (And Just Like That), a trio of fashionable friends rather than a quartet, and a midlife perspective instead of a ballsy 30-something attitude are just some of the changes we’ll see. But I’m most interested to know how the show will tackle the issue of consumerism, which was as fundamental to the award-winning show as the streets of New York City.

In the early noughties, being a shopaholic was not only acceptable, it was admired. Women everywhere wanted to breeze in and out of high-end boutiques, buying impractical but very pretty, feather-clad Jimmy Choo shoes whenever they pleased, just like Carrie Bradshaw. Carrie’s walk-in-wardrobe became iconic. Throughout the show’s six series, not one of the four female stars wore the same outfit twice (the only exception is the fur jacket, which Carrie wore in the first episode of the show while on her first date with Mr Big, and in the last scene of the final episode while on the phone to him), giving rise to a quantity rather than quality mindset among fashion-conscious women who didn’t have the means for Manolos and Missoni. Owning a lot of clothes came to be viewed as a status symbol and a marker of success, irrespective of whether they were high end or low budget.

Shopping was also depicted in the show as a hobby and an emotional crutch, which it was for many of us when we were younger, myself included. “With no man in sight, I decided to rescue my ankles from a life of boredom by purchasing too many pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes,” says Carrie blithely in episode two of season three. But by midlife, most of us have learned – to our expense, quite literally – that more stuff; be it clothes, make-up, shoes or shellac, is as effective a balm for bruised emotions and boredom as leeches were for curing disease in the 18th century. Will Carrie’s passion for fashion have been tempered this time around, then? To be honest, I hope not, but I do hope the show taps into the current conversations around fashion and sustainability and reflects the present mood as pointedly as it did that of the early noughties because, in 2021, the world looks very different to how it did when Sex And The City first made women sit up and take notice.

The phrase “circular economy’ is more than just jargon, it’s become a way of life for a lot of women and is certainly an aspiration of many others. This year, one of the biggest global fashion brands used previous seasons’ dead stock in its new collection. Italian powerhouse Marni created 25 coats using outerwear from previous seasons for its SS21 catwalk show, patching them together to form something that looked fresh and new, yet had the irresistible appeal of an archive piece. Meanwhile, Instagram was flooded earlier this week (on Blue Monday fittingly) with posts about a new initiative called Share Joy, which aims to encourage women to partake in the circular economy by donating clothes they no longer want in support of Pieta House. The fashion edit for Share Joy, curated by Irish journalist and former Digital Director of Vogue.com Anne-Marie Tomchak, will be sold on Depop and Instagram. The mantra of rewear or recycle is no longer just the hollow refrain of fringe groups, it’s now as mainstream as matcha tea and Matt Lucas.

Another enterprise that’s caught my attention this month is personal shopper Orla Sheridan’s call-out on Instagram to followers to count and record the number of items of clothing they buy this year. As a firm advocate of the 30 Wear Rule (you don’t buy something unless you are convinced you’ll get at least this number of wears from the garment), Orla is a mindful shopper who doesn’t just talk the talk. She announced at the end of last year that she had bought 18 items in total in 2020, and is hoping to reduce this number further in 2021. I’m committed to being as mindful as possible too this year, so I’ve jumped on Orla’s bandwagon and I’ll post each item I buy on Instagram (as a way of ensuring I consciously remain aware of what I buy). So far I’ve bought two pieces; a pink sweater and a navy satin sheen dress.

Sex And The City without fashion would be like Friends without Chandler’s one-liners – a lot less fun to watch. It’s always been as much a reason to tune is as Carrie’s on-off relationship with Mr Big. But how will it be handled in this era of moral, ethical and environmental accountability? Will any of Carrie, Charlotte or Miranda’s clothes from the original series be recycled for And Just Like That? According to Parker, 95% of Carrie’s wardrobe has been archived. At the very least, will any one of the protagonists be seen wearing the same item more than once in the new series? Which brands will be the supporting stars of the revamped show, as Manolo Blahnik and Christian Laboutin were in the original series? The power this show has to steer women in one sartorial direction or another is enormous. The influence it yields over brands is phenomenal and it can transform any label’s fortunes faster than an endorsement from Meghan Markle. Will it play a part in spinning a new fashion narrative? Will the show feature brands that are rewriting the rules on how clothes are produced and sold, or will it play to the gallery, and endorse the fashion heavy-hitters once again?

In an article on Vogue.com about the new series, contributor Raven Smith was quoted as saying let’s “park our wokeness” for a moment. But should we? Could we? Sex And The City was a wonderful celebration of fashion that fitted the appetites and attitudes of the early noughties. I’m not sure And Just Like That can get away with maturing the personalities and the relationships within the show, but not their approach to fashion and consumer culture. Apart from anything else, few women shop the same way in their 40s and 50s as they did in their 20s and 30s.

Last year, British TV broadcaster Konnie Huq confessed that she had bought nothing new in a decade and was photographed on the red carpet wearing a yellow strapless mini dress which she had previously worn while presenting The Xtra Factor nine years earlier. This is the kind of fashion news that makes headlines in the 2020s. These are the kinds of sartorial stories women want to hear today. I think watching Carrie strut along Fifth Avenue loaded down with expensive designer merchandise as she did 20 years ago would be as offensive to some as Aiden’s first engagement ring was to Carrie.

Let’s hope the only cause for disappointment in And Just Like That will be Kim Cattrall’s absence.

Marie Kelly, January 2021